Coming Home
by LaneKent4-ever
Summary: A fic that takes place six months after the season finale. Lois has returned from the future and knows Clark's secret. Clark has not spoken to anyone since telling Chloe CK is dead, but upon learning of Lois's return it becomes harder for him to stay away
1. Chapter 1

When Lois stepped off the elevator into the Daily Planet basement she was startled by the eruption of applause she received. She smiled and nodded in appreciation before she walked to her desk. She found it covered in flowers, cards, and small cuddly stuffed animals.

"Your desk was kind of a memorial to you when everyone thought you were..." Lois's intern began

"Dead," Lois finished fishing through her mind for his name, but she could still not recall it.

"Yes," he said looking at the floor.

"Well I'm not so...coffee," she ordered sitting down at her desk.

"Actually, Miss Lane, I don't work for you anymore. I am a reporter now. I sit in... I sit there," he said looking over at the desk opposite of Lois's. Clark's old desk.

"Oh," Lois replied trying to ignore the nagging pain that tore at her heart. They had already filled his position.

Lois did her best to move all of her "dead" gifts to one side of her desk. She was not exactly sure what to do with them. She was unfamiliar with etiquette in such situations, but she really did not want to take them home. The thought of being surrounded by flowers people had bought to morn her gave her the creeps.

When she finally had space to work Lois sat down at her desk. She had not been given an assignment from, or even met her latest boss. She stared at the blinking cursor on the blank screen. She sighed as she began to type something she knew she could never publish.

_Clark Kent is a super powered being from another planet. _Lois read her words and sighed. It sounded as crazy in writing as it had in her head._ Clark Kent is the Red Blue Blur and I am so dense that I did not have a clue. I was transported to the future by a ring created by a "legion" of super hero's._ Lois read her words and shook her head. This was the kind of stuff that could get her locked away.

_I Keep thinking I am going wake up from this horrible nightmare and Smallville will be sitting at his desk waiting to annoy the crap out of me. Jimmy Olsen will be alive and well. I will not know things about my future that I would rather be oblivious to. And maybe...just maybe Chloe would not be moments from a nervous breakdown._

Lois read her words and sighed again as she highlighted the whole document and pushed the backspace button leaving her staring at the blank screen again.

%%%%%%%%%

**Daily Planet Reporter, Lois Lane, Found Alive. **

Kal-el read the words over and over afraid that if he looked away they would not be true. The Daily Planet had been his one link to his old life. He had searched its pages everyday for the past six months hoping for any sign that she was alive. He had not been able to explain it, but something inside him told him he had not heard the last of Lois Lane. He had began to think that feeling was just the little hope he had left, and she had died at the hands of Doomsday. Then just as the last ounce of hope he had was about gone, there she was on the front page

For the first time in six months a smile spread across his face and a bit of hope dared to creep back into his heart. He tried to convince himself to stay away from her, but his feet moved out of the castle of ice and he was half way to Metropolis before his mind caught up with his heart. He reminded himself that he was no longer Clark Kent and that the friendship he had with Lois Lane was over. He would only check to see she was okay.

It was not until he saw her walking out of the doors of the Daily Planet wearing a black pencil skirt and red blouse that he realized how much he had missed her. His eyes filled with tears and he was frozen in place as he watched her wave goodbye to her co-workers. Her hair was longer, but still as silky and beautiful as the day she had gone missing. She was as fit as ever and just as gorgeous, though there were a few more worry lines on her face. It was those lines that made him wonder where she had been.

For a moment he contemplated stepping out the alleyway and walking up to her. Then as he stepped out of the shadow he saw a tall light haired man walk up to her. Lois smiled and hugged the man. She glanced over the mans shoulder right where Kal-el was standing. Kal-el sped back to his fortress of solitude. He paced back and forth running his hands through his hair. He had lived in solitude for six months without once considering a return to his old life. With a single glance at Lois Lane he had nearly given up his sacrifice. He had to stay away from her.

%%%%%%%%%

Lois looked around as she stepped out of the dark basement of the Daily Planet onto the sunny Metropolis street. She felt as though someone was watching it, but shook it off as a bit of paranoia. That is when she saw him making his way toward her. She smiled as he wrapped her in a hug. Lois looked over Oliver's shoulder and for a moment she thought she saw Clark, but when she did a double take he was gone.

"I am so glad you are okay," Oliver said as he pulled back. "Where have you been."

"Um... I wish I knew," Lois smiled. She was getting good at this lie. She hated lying, but it was easier to lie to Oliver, who had lied to her their entire relationship, than it had been to lie to Chloe and her father.

"Lo, I may have been blind about a lot of things when we were together, but I did learn to recognize certain signs when you weren't telling me the whole truth," Oliver said as they made their way to the small cafe.

Lois looked at him and knew there was no use lying.

"I did not tell you this..."

"Our secret," Oliver agreed.

"I remember everyday of the last six months, but I cannot talk about where I have been," Lois admitted as they took a seat outside

"Are you in danger?" Oliver asked concerned.

Lois laughed at his question. "Well no more than I was when that beast was loose in the city."

"Lois, I am serious. If someone is threatening you I can take care of it," Oliver said looking at her soberly.

"I am not being threatened. Let's just say I have been away learning things to help me..." Lois paused trying to think of the right words. "to help me do my part in this world."

"Sounds enlightening," Oliver smiled.

"You have no idea," Lois said remembering the picture she had stumbled upon of her, Clark and their three children in a history book. "But I did not call you here to talk about me."

"I am assuming you are wanting to know if I've heard from Clark," Oliver said his face going sober once again.

Lois nodded. Her eyes pleading for good news.

"I know he is alive," Oliver began.

"How?" Lois asked.

"It is complicated," Oliver replied as the waitress brought them each a water and a menu.

"Just coffee form me," Lois smiled.

"Me too," Oliver replied.

Lois sat in silence annoyed. She knew she could not tell Oliver she knew about Clark and that was the only way she would get straight answers out of him.

"Do you know where?" she asked.

"No. He does not want to be found, Lois," Oliver said looking at the table.

"That is what Chloe told me, but I do not see why we are just letting Clark give up on himself when he would never give up on us," Lois said angrily.

"Lois it is-"

"Complicated?" Lois finished. "Oliver you have a million more resources than Clark and he would find a way to help you if you needed him," Lois yelled.

"Calm down, Lois. I am doing my best. I am not giving up on him," Oliver said calmly.

Lois did not know why she let herself get so angry. She knew there were probably things going on that Oliver was not telling her out of loyalty to Clark, but he did not know what she did. The Legion had informed her she was the one who brought Clark out of his "darkness." They had contemplated taking her memory of the time travel, but decided that it would be easier to ensure that she helped Clark if she remembered everything. Now she was feeling the pressure.


	2. Chapter 2

Kal-El did his usual rounds in Metropolis that evening. He tried to keep his mind on his duty. He told himself that the thoughts of Lois Lane that kept creeping into his mind were a weakness he needed to work through. It had been such a shock that she was alive that it caused a temporary regression.

Kal-El wondered, as he sped around Metropolis if things would have been different if Lois would not have gone missing. He was almost certain he would not have become so reclusive. Lois was not always nice to him, but she was always there when he needed her. He felt that because he had not been there for her when she disappeared he had failed her.

As he was foiling an armed robbery Kal-El smelled a familiar smell. It was one that took him back to his old life. She was close. He could smell the mixture of her musky perfume and the sweet smell of her hair.

Kal-El stopped. For the first time since his last conversation with Lois, he stopped on the streets of Metropolis. He did not like that Lois was in this neighborhood. It was a dark and dangerous place. She should not be anywhere near this side of the city.

Lois looked around at the boarded up buildings and the dilapidated houses as she clung tight to her purse. She was beginning to get a little apprehensive as she searched for a familiar street.

Lois cursed herself for getting lost. She still was not sure how she had managed to get lost in the city she knew so well. She had decided to go for a walk after leaving her meeting with Oliver. She needed to blow off some steam and prepare herself to face Chloe. It was so hard to see her cousin in such a desperate state.

Lois was standing at an intersection when she felt as if she were being watched. She pulled her jacket around her and prayed that if Clark Kent was really the Red Blue Blur he was still keeping an eye on her the way he had said he was before her time travel mishap.

Kal-El found Lois wandering aimlessly down one street and up another. She was lost. Damn it. Why did she have to be lost? He did not have time to follow her around the city. She was getting in his way just like she always had and now she completely unaware he was even around.

Lois saw the two men begin following her and picked up her speed. She walked briskly to the intersection. The 'don't walk' sign was flashing, but she decided to make a break for it.

Kal-El saw Lois step out in front of the car and reacted without thinking.

Lois was standing in the middle of the street staring at the headlights heading right for her one moment and then next she was standing in the alley behind her apartment.

Kal-El stood quietly in the shadows watching her. He would only stay until she made it safely inside.

Lois could feel him. She knew he was watching her.

"You're there aren't you?" she called turning circles searching the shadows for him.

Kal-El was shocked that she spoke to him. He knew he should have expected it. It was him who had called her before everything happened.

"Come out. I think you owe me a visit," Lois said trying to appeal to Clark's feeling of guilt.

"I am here," he said in a deep voice stepping just far enough out of the shadows to let her knew where he was at.

Lois stepped back startled. She had not actually expected him to show himself.

"Thank you for…"

"You should not be in that part of the city. It is dangerous," he said sternly.

Lois rolled her eyes. Even when Clark was in hiding he could not help lecturing her.

"I was lost. Not that it is any of your business," she bit back.

"It is my business when I have to spend time I could be spending helping others watching you," he said a little anger in his voice.

"I do not need you to baby sit me," Lois yelled. "You can forget I am even here," she said folding her arms across her chest and staring at the dark figure angrily.

"I was not watching you that night and you disappeared. I took a break from watching you long enough to find your cousin for you and you managed to completely disappear from the face of the earth for six months," Kal-el fired.

"There was nothing you could have done about that," Lois said more tenderly hearing the guilt in his voice.

"Where were you?" he asked anguish evident in his voice.

"You can't even trust me enough to let me see your face and I am supposed to reveal something to you I have told no one," Lois said hoping it might persuade him, but knowing there was very little chance.

"I am sorry, Miss Lane. It is more important than ever that you do not know my identity," he said with true regret in his voice.

"Well then I guess this conversation is over," Lois said turning to go inside.

"Miss Lane," he said.

"Yes," Lois said turning around her heart racing.

"Be careful, please," he said simply.

"Sure," Lois said the disappointment in her voice obvious.

Kal-El cursed Lois. She had interrupted his work, messed with his mind, and ruined his plan to keep human emotion out of his life. He knew things were going to be different before he ever left that alley. He knew after their conversation he would not be able to go back to his life of solitude.

******

"I have to be honest Kent the higher ups are not going to like me hiring the rookie who bailed for six months back on my team," Perry White said standing up from his desk and looking out the window.

"I understand Sir. I did not even really expect an interview, but I thought it was worth a try," Clark said looking down at his hands that he fidgeted with in his lap.

"Hell when have I ever listened to the boss…Not that I am saying that is acceptable. If I hire you back, you have to prove that I was right to do so. If you disappear again I am going down with you."

"It won't happen Sir," Clark promised sincerely.

"I owe you one kid otherwise I would not be doing this. You start tomorrow eight sharp. Report here. I will show you were to go from there," Perry said.

"I know where the basement is," Clark said confused.

"You will not be in the basement. Now get out of here before I change my mind.

Clark left smiling. He was careful not to let Lois see him, but he made a quick run to the basement to see her. She was sitting at her desk with her coffee reading the article she had wrote about her latest brush with Red Blue Blur. Clark was happy that she had got her front page story.

Lois smiled down at the headline **Red Blue Blur Saves Reporter From Speeding Car. **

"Great article Lane," the no named man across from her said smiling.

"Thanks," she smiled getting up and heading for the coffee pot.

"Boss wants to see you in his office in five minutes Lane," the boss's assistant said.

"Ok," Lois smiled nervously. She was glad she had a front page article under her belt before her first meeting with him.

"Lane," Perry White said staring at her from across the desk. "I like your work. I was a fan of yours before I came to the Planet and was saddened when I found we would not be working together."

"Thank you Sir," Lois beamed.

"This latest article is nice, but I am guessing by the way your write it there is a little more to be learned about this super hero. You have some sort of connection with him. Yes?"

"Sort of…Well used to. I am not sure now, but he is funny about interviews," Lois said trying to keep her nervous ramble to a minimum.

"Respect that. It is what will ultimately get you the exclusive. You have to come up with something better than Red Blue Blur. It is not catchy enough," he said leaning back in his chair.

"I'm on it," Lois smiled.

"I have an opening I think would be good for you," Perry said looking as if he was still trying to decide if he should give it to her.

"Sir?" Lois said shocked.

"I am moving you upstairs. I need a good reporter for features. I still expect your investigations though. That is your bread and butter," Perry smiled.

"A promotion Sir?" Lois asked shocked.

"Yes. It starts tomorrow."

"Thank you," Lois said jumping up to shake his hand.

"Come see me first thing tomorrow. I will show you your office and introduce you to your new partner," Perry said slyly.

"Partner Sir?" Lois said stiffening up. She did not want a partner. Clark was her partner.

"Yes. I think you two will work well together."

"Sir, I don't mean to be ungrateful, but I am not sure I am ready for a new partner," Lois said carefully.

"You better be by tomorrow Lane. There are people lined up to get out of that basement," Perry said sternly.

"Yes Sir," Lois said unenthusiastically.

Perry White smiled as Lois Lane left his office. He knew the team of Lane-Kent was going to be a hit. They had been great together before and now they would have even more tention. He did not know the whole story, but he knew Lois knew more about Clark than she let on and he knew there was much more to Clark than met the eye. All of that coupled with the famous Lois and Clark sexual tension everyone talked about there was bound to be something good come out of it.


End file.
